Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Has anyone ever managed to leave IKEA a) in under an hour, and b) without buying anything?

Huh, me neither.

The great big escalator at the entrance takes you up to IKEA Land, straight into the oh-so-organised, 'wouldn't this look great, honey?' modern-looking demonstration rooms. Oh the efficient functionality. Oh the cleanness of design. Oh the quirky cheerfulness of 1970s retro designs.

Cooking and eating section

Unsurprisingly, it's the cooking and eating section that I linger in the most.

It seems appropriate then, that I'm here for a food blogger meet-up, organised by David from IKEA and author behind the This is Home website.

We're here for a look at some of IKEA's range of kitchenware and a sampling of their Swedish food range and restaurant meals.

Kids' play area

Lingonberry squashAvailable as a lingonberry syrup $4.95/500ml

As we sip on glasses of lingonberry squash, elderflower squash and pear cider, we listen to a brief talk on the Swedish people's affection for fish as well as a run-through of the various frying pans available. We're particularly awestruck by the 24cm frying pan that retails for $4.50 (yes, $4.50!) and it gets a special nod of approval as it's passed around.

Cider Koppaberg $2.50/500ml Non-alcoholic pear cider

Already a fan of the IKEA lingonberry preserve (it's great with turkey at Christmas), the lingonberry squash tastes like a mixture of cranberry juice with the sweetness of strawberries. I purchase a bottle of the lingonberry syrup later that evening, and so far it's been delicious with ice and mineral water. I'm also envisaging a good match with vodka, and can see myself using it to cook with pork or in baking.

Elderflower squash provides elegant refreshment, and the pear cider is also a winner, bubbly and sweet with an almost lychee-like flavour of pear.

The entree platter of mixed Swedish appetisers garners much excitement. The IKEA staff seem bemused by our photos, but I think even they understimated exactly how many photos and angles eight food bloggers need!

Gravlax salmon with sweet mustard and dill is soft and yielding, and I'm surprised by the scroll of Tunnbrödwhich reminds me of mountain bread, the filling of Swedish red caviar pairing well with the richness of sour cream.

The gigantic pizza-like wedge of Knäckebröd (how can you say that without smiling?!) is the most fun to eat, and I find myself quite liking the toothpaste squiggle of Kaller smoked roe. The pale pink paste has a sweet and salty roe flavour, and it's another product I'm moved to purchasing later that evening (picture of the blue Kaller smoked roe further on in this post).

We order our main meals directly from the servery in the IKEA restaurant. There's a huge run on the meatballs but between us we manage to get most of the dishes on offer covered.

Chicken breast schnitzel with chips $3.95

Salmon pytti panna with basil and mustard sauce $3.95

I find it hard to fathom that a light dinner can be had for $3.95 but then this is the home of the $1 hot dog. The chicken schnitzel is a decent size, a deep golden hue and served with a huge pile of chips and a lake of gravy.

The salmon pytti panna is a Scandinavian version of the British bubble and squeak, explains Petra, a Swedish national. Traditionally made with leftover bits of vegetables and fish, it's a homestyle comfort food dish, although I find the faint taste of vinegar a little strange to get used to.

Swedish meatballs with chips $7.50 medium

But it's the meatballs that win the popularity contest, an iconic part of the Ikea Restaurant experience. Pleasingly rustic in their uneven size and shape, the meatballs have a pan-fried edge that gives way to a ridiculously soft and juicy interior. Both the graddsas cream sauce and lingonberry preserve add extra flavour to the meatballs and your carbohydrate of choice: the chips or the mashedp potato.

Swedish meatballs with mashed potato $6.95 small

Garden salad $2.00

A small bowl of salad provides some much needed vitamins.

Self-serve dessert display

Punch roll (front) and Delicato ball $1.50 each

Our dessert platter of Punch rolls and Delicato balls

Our dessert platter is a good time to try treats I've never sampled before. The Punch roll, Petra explains, is also known as a dammsugare or vacuum cleaner, due to its visual resemblance to an old-fashioned vacuum cleaner head. The log of chocolate cake has a faint taste of liquer, and is rolled in a layer of lime green marzipan with both ends dipped in chocolate.

The Delicato ball looks like a chocolate snowball and tastes like a mixture of chocolate, Copha and coconut.

Princess cake $3.95

It's the Princess cake that has Chocolatesuze excited - it's one of her favourites. It's a simple but striking dessert, a disc of sponge spread thinly with raspberry jam, topped with a thick layer of cream and covered with a thin dome of green marzipan. The history behind its green colour is not really known, although this post makes an admirable attempt to uncover the mystery.

Chocolatesuze: armed Princess and food blogger poster girl

We depart the restaurant laden down with goodie bags and meatball- and herring-lined stomachs. There's still time to get to the Sweden shop before it closes and I need a tube of that Kalles Kaviar, Daim bars and more...

Ikea carry bags

Kalles Kaviar $3.95/190g Creamed smoked roe spread

The boy pictured is the son of the CEO at the time when Kalles Kaviar first commenced production in 1954, its packaging unchanged since its initial launch.

Looks like a great day out! Retail AND food! Growing up in Perth, we're used to the sight of the radioactive green Princess cake from Miss Maude's - a local institution. Never gave it much thought, until now. Maybe Adriano Z will give it his makeover soon.

hello from the states. i'm not sure if i've ever had anything at ikea before besides the hot dog, but i hear they have some great deals and good food...i'll have to check it out next time...lovely pictures! all you bloggers have some nice cameras, while i'm just using an old canon =)

I love Ikea! I actually prefer the elderflower syrup over the ligonberry... Elderflower has more of a unique taste I think. And I've always wanted to try all those spreads but never wanted to buy them all just to try. Ikea should do a sample platter like the ones you guys got to get people tasting!

funny you should ask... i popped in on Saturday for the specific purpose of getting two rolls of paper from the kids section (and to get in & out in under 5 min) and ended up with about six other things 20 mins later.

When I was a little girl living in Melbourne, the biggest treat was a trip to Ikea, where my parents wandered for hours doing god knows what, and us kids all played in the fantastic room of balls. A swimming pool filled with plastic balls! Awesome. I was devastated when I was too old to play in the room. In fact, I am still devastated.

I really want that chicken schnitzel now also. I wonder if one has to wait 30 minutes after eating to swim in a pool filled with plastic balls?

Hi Mary Sue - lol, but on the other hand your time for the week would have been quite significant :)

Hi Karen - Ooh yes, those meatballs were great. The lingonberry jam is such an ideal match for them too.

Hi Gobsmack'd - Nothing better than a day of food shopping! Zumbo has already had the lime green Dr Apple, and he should be launching his new collection very soon too!

Hi He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named - Howdy! There are plenty of food bloggers still with point-and-shoots but as SLRs drop in price, they're becoming more and more common. Nothing wrong with old cameras either. It's not about the pots and pans, it's the chef behind them :)

Hi Simon - Much fun indeed, but ahh food bloggers + food. How could it not be?

Hi K - I agree. I've often wondered about the crazy roe in a tube but never really been game to buy it blindly. And I do like elderflower but lingonberry is only available at IKEA I think, so it just feels so much more exotic (and a cheerful red colour too!).

Hi divemummy - Cheap hotdogs and soft serves are still available. The kids playground is still there too - do you think they'd notice if I snuck into the ball pit? lol

Hi Reemski - I remember you mentioning them on twitter. They do look rather good!

Hi Shez - It's crazy addictive. All those colourful displays and crazy prizes. I am helpless in the face of such temptation!

Hi Simon Food Favourites - It was great, lots of interesting tastes and the Sweden Shop is always full of treats.

Hi Billy - Oh what a shame. You gotta move fast around food bloggers! lol. Yes I had so many photos, and I am really bad at culling them. I agree, so much I wanted to buy as well.

Hi Maggie - No IKEA in Tasmana? Commiserations! lol. And yes yes yes, I want to play in the coloured ball pit too. I think I did it once and it wasn't as fun as it looked but yes, I think there should be an adult version too.

Hi Chris - The frypan had a reasonable weight to it. They tended to get heavier as they increased in price, but at $4.50, I think you'd be happy no matter what!

Hi Veruca Salt - I didn't know you were a meatballs fan! And yes, I'm not a huge fan of marzipan either, but it's slowly growing on me, and this one has only a very thin layer. Deliciously outweighed by the mountain of cream :)

Hi Minh - lol. Suze is totally the poster girl for Sydney foodbloggers! I love the Sweden store - so many goodies I would've loved to have taken home!

Hi Uberannie - I never consider a shopping trip an expedition, but lol, glad you enjoy them regardless! The meatballs were great and yes heading off in search of food is definitely my idea of fun!